Team USA Breaks 30-Year British Reign in 2024 Paralympic Dressage
USA made history today at the Paris 2024 Para Equestrian Games, ending Great Britain’s 30 years reign to an end after winning the country’s first team gold medal. To climb to top of the leading team, the USA riders have been under great pressure to deliver the best expectations which they did by taking the top of the stadium. The medal won has been added to the other two gold and one silver won from several individual competitions.
Background on the Paralympics
Para equestrian first Paralympics games were held in August, 1996 at the Georgia International Horse Park in the USA. More than 60 horse riders from 16 countries participated on borrowed horses in the nine games. Great Britain took the medal table in Atlanta with eight medals in the MTO followed by USA and Norway.
Two decades and five years later at Tokyo 2020, 77 contenders from 27 National Paralympics Committee competed at the Equestrian Park in Tokyo. Great Britain remains the most successful country in the sport with 34 gold, 20 silver and 10 bronze medals.
Team USA’s Para Equestrian Victory
Château de Versailles, became the first French site where medals were awarded across five categories. Netherlands Demi Haerkens and her horse won a gold medal in grade IV. In grade V, Belgium’s Michele George won the Paralympics title. At noon, Latvia’s Richards Snikus also won gold to the sound of “La camisa negra” by Juanes. The Americans Fiona Howard and Rebecca Hart rounded off the day, becoming Paralympic champions in Grades II and III, respectively.
In Grade III, Chiara Zenati and Swing Royal put in a strong performance but narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth, while the French athletes, Vladimir Vinchon and his horse Pégase Mayenne finished fifth in Grade IV. Alexia Pittier and her horse Sultan 768 placed seventh. The United States’ past best Paralympic medal haul was two golds and a bronze at both Atlanta 1996 and Tokyo 2020. They now have three golds and one silver at Paris 2024, with the five Individual Freestyle events still to come on Saturday. USA also became the first nation other than Great Britain to win a Para Dressage Team event at a Paralympic Games.
